Sleep came in waves, heavy and slow, dragging me under like the tide. My body still trembled from the encounter with Mr De Vito, my skin hot and prickling from where he had touched me. I had climbed into bed without changing, too exhausted, too shaken to move. The room felt both freezing and too warm at once, my thoughts churning like a storm.I don't know how long I lay there in the dark, staring at the ceiling. Minutes? Hours? Eventually, sleep caught me in its claws and pulled me under.The mattress dipped beside me.Somewhere in the half-lucid haze of sleep, I felt the shift in weight. The warmth of a body close to mine. The scent—light—familiar but distant. I didn’t think anything of it. My dream-addled mind offered no warning, no alarm. It was just a presence. Someone beside me. Nothing unusual. Nothing to fear.So I turned toward the warmth, my body seeking it like a moth drawn to flame. I curled closer, chasing comfort. My face found the hollow of the pillow, and I exhaled sof
I exhaled slowly when the figure finally stepped into the light. My shoulders sagged, and I let out a shaky breath. Mr De Vito. He was wearing a black dress shirt, the top buttons undone, sleeves rolled up, revealing the veins that snaked along his forearms. His blue eyes found mine and stayed there, unreadable, hard. The air shifted, turning thick and oppressive. "You scared me," I said, voice barely above a whisper. "What are you doing here?" He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he stepped inside and closed the door behind him with a quiet click. The sound echoed like a gunshot. He looked at me in silence, his eyes moving down to the nightgown I was wearing. His jaw flexed once, then again. But still, he said nothing. I crossed my arms over my chest, my skin prickling. "What did I tell you?" he asked finally, voice low and cold. I blinked, confused. "What are you talking about? What—?" His eyes darkened, something dangerous flashing in their depths. He took a slow step c
It felt like a bucket of ice-cold water had been dumped over my head. Reality. Brutal, unwelcome reality. I jerked back so fast I nearly tripped over my own feet. The moment shattered, splintering into a million pieces as I scrambled to put distance between us. My skin still tingled where his breath had fanned across it, but I clung to my sense. My duty. My pride. "I'm fine," I said quickly, my voice brittle. "Really. I have to finish reviewing the guest list for Angelo." He didn’t move. His jaw flexed. Just slightly. His eyes—dark, unreadable—held mine for a moment too long. I could see it there, the unspoken words, the tension swimming beneath his cool exterior. But he didn’t say a thing. Just nodded once. He opened his mouth like he was going to say something but stopped himself as he shook his head. And then without another word he turned and walked out of the room. I stood frozen until the door clicked shut behind him. Only then did I let out the breath I didn’t know I w
The list of names blurred before my eyes.I blinked hard, forcing myself to focus. Angelo had asked me to review the guest list for the annual De Vito Ball—cross-reference RSVPs, check for updates, and ensure there were no duplicates. It was simple. Tedious, but simple.And I welcomed the tedium today.Anything to keep my mind from replaying what I saw in that office.That woman. On his lap.Mr De Vito gripping her hips.My stomach churned. I shook my head.Not my business.It wasn’t.I was here to work, not to pine over my boss like some desperate woman. I had a job to do, a role to play. And after everything that happened with my fall, with him insisting I stay in his room—I didn’t need complications. I didn’t need him.But my chest ached anyway.I adjusted my pillow, propping up the laptop better. I was halfway through the "R" section when the door suddenly burst open.I didn’t flinch.Honestly, I expected it. I figured it was Mr De Vito, coming up to… what? Apologize? Explain? My
The moment the door flung open, the tension in the room shifted—morphed into something electric and volatile.Camilla.Of course it was her. No one else would enter without knocking, without hesitation, without an ounce of consideration for boundaries she never respected. She wore entitlement like a second skin, and the smug curve of her lips told me she thought she still had a place here. But she wasn’t smiling today. No teasing tilt to her mouth, no come-hither gaze. Just sharp eyes and sharp heels, storming across the room like she owned it."I went to your office. You weren't there," she said, voice clipped, eyes narrowing at the screens behind me. "Imagine my surprise when I found out you canceled everything today. No meetings. No calls. Not even a message.”I didn’t answer. I just leaned back in my chair, jaw tight, trying not to snap. The image of Emily tumbling down the stairs still lingered on the screen. Her body, her limpness, that haunting silence after the fall—it was et
I don’t know what made me turn the car around this morning. Maybe it was the way she looked when she tried to storm out of the house—all fragile defiance wrapped in bruises and stubborn pride. Or maybe it was the fact that I couldn’t stop picturing the moment I found her crumpled at the bottom of the stairs, like a broken doll someone had discarded. Either way, I canceled every meeting, snapped at my assistant, and found myself back in my home office with more questions than answers. Emily Ross was under my roof now. That made her my responsibility, whether she liked it or not. And no one—not a soul—was going to harm her while she was. I rolled my shoulders and tapped the spacebar on my keyboard, eyes fixed on the grainy footage from the hallway security camera. The screen flickered before settling. The familiar image of the staircase. The moment in question. There she was. Emily. Covered with a robe after her swim, hair tied back in a messy knot. She descended the staircase with